► I SAID 1, 2, 3! PLAY THE GAME AGAIN LET'S PRESS THE BUTTON DON'T BE SURPRISED IF I CHANGE MY MIND PEEK-A-BOO

The brilliant sapphire hues in the sky mixed in with the gray shades that floated aimlessly above. The sun, in the midst of the frosty wind that blew throughout the streets just barely blocked by the tall buildings, was nowhere to be seen. Of course, that was to be expected in the middle of winter, where thankfully, no snow fell in the city but it was enough to send a shiver down everyone's spine, albeit a pleasurable one.

Asura trudged along the street, holding a sheet in her hand as her eyes skimmed through the contents of it yet again. She held a little bag on her back which had her Warrior Shoulder Blades in them along with her sword tucked to her side. The blonde held a finger to her chin, scanning the sheet yet again, for the millionth time, as she stopped in front of a small coffee shop where she had been given orders to wait.

Despite not wanting to admit it, Asura was slightly nervous. The reason? Because she had just been dispatched on a job that required her to kill a mouse, ironically, who was in an accidental experiment gone wrong and was a significant threat to Crocus. They had received this request from a woman named Luciel who was reputable for being Merlin's student. That was still fine. Her main reason was due to the fact that this was the first time she was assigned a job with someone; someone higher in rank than her. This person was another Rune Knight, quite a reputable Seated from what she'd been told. The people at HQ wanted her to build "team working skills" as it was an essential quality to have, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was probably because they knew this mission was more difficult than any other that she'd been on and they didn't know if she could handle it. Which was fair enough.

Asura hummed to herself as she leaned against the wall of the shop. "I wonder who this person is and how they're like," the blonde muttered to herself as she crossed her arms and waited for the other person to arrive, the sheet in her hand, now neatly folded and held.

The chill air that lingered in the atmosphere radiated a sinister aura. Sounds of the aftermath of chaos and destruction echoed through the vicinity as the gusts if wind gently caressed her skin. Laying there, on the concrete ground above one of the buildings that had been fortunate enough to survive the raging fury of the war that had reached it's unpredicted outcome. There were still aspects of the war that she couldn't lay her finger on. However, what came as a shocker to her, and to everyone around was the rise of the new emperor who was once seen as the enemy of the country. Hauling her eyelids to reveal a pair of lilac irises which gazed upon the grey skies, embraced with swaying clouds, she sighed as her blonde hair sprawled on the dirty ground loosely fell on her back while she raised herself into a sitting position. Scratching the back of her next, once again she fell into a daze as her eyes instinctively glided towards the sky, climbing on the rushing train of thoughts.

The war had come as a surprise and had disappeared as one as well. Now that a new emperor was in charge, she was sure that he may perhaps bring about a change in the system of the Rune Knights, he may perhaps do what she wished to do. Sighing, she simply realized that it would make her job a lot easier but she couldn't stop the motivation that was slipping through her fingers. As her mind wandered to her alliance as a Knight, realization struck her as she recalled being given a task to complete. It had completely slipped her mind causing her eyes to widen a little. It wouldn't have served as much of a problem if she were late. However, this time it was different as she was told that she would be accompanied by an Apprentice Knight.

Without a moment to waste, she ventured into the streets of Crocus, her gaze wandered upon men and women who vigorously worked to restore the shredded city. Xandra landed before a cafe where she was supposed to meet with her partner for the job. Flickering eyes halted upon a woman with blonde hair who stood out, not simply because of her height which was perhaps at par with the blonde but also because she carried with her a sword. It wasn't everyday that such a sight was seen, deepening the female's assurance of the woman's identity. Sauntering over to the female, the Knight stood in front of her, "Are you the Apprentice Knight sent for the job?" If the female were to reply with a yes, the lightning mage would put forth her hand for a shake, "I'm Xandra Queen, a Seated."

Having been so lost in thought, the mage was completely and utterly clueless about the task that they were given to do but she couldn't possibly let her partner know that. Glancing at the folded sheet within her gaze, she guessed that it contained details of the job. Rather than asking anything else, she simply decided to get this over with, "Is the client's address written on the information sheet?"

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Sapphire hues glanced towards the sky that seemed to be descending its colours, slowly yet, surely, into the darker shades of grey. Oh no. This meant that during the day, it was going to rain, at least once. As the blonde glanced towards the sheet folded neatly into her arm, she clicked her tongue. The onslaught of rain that seemed highly likely to descend upon Crocus would make her mission that much harder to accomplish. Or, their mission. The Apprentice and the Seated's.

Asura's mind dwelled into the affairs that took place during the last few days: the war, the blood, the new kingdom. She had spent almost the entirety of her time, ever since the war ended and the announcement was made, thinking about this. About what is going to happen next, about what it means to be a Rune Knight now, about how foolish they all were and whether they would be tricked again. This was her very first assignment ever since the incident and ever since she became an Apprentice after her performance during the war was commended and she was given a promotion. For now, she dissipated all the thoughts of the war from her head and focused on the task at hand.

Just as she came to that conclusion, a woman approached, around the same height and build, not to mention the exact same hair colour, though Asura's was a bit darker. She inquired whether Asura was the Apprentice Knight sent for the job which meant that she was the Seated. "Yes, I am the Knight sent for the job." The woman introduced herself as Xandra Queen, a rather interesting name. Asura glanced directly at her and decided to introduce herself as well. "My name is Asura Nightshade. Please to make your acquaintance, Ms. Queen."

Xandra then inquired about the job and address of the client to which Asura would nod and hand the sheet to her. "The client's address is given however, I doubt we would have to visit them as the details were already relayed by her prior to us being given the job." Asura replied to the other blonde's query, "Her name is Luciel and from what's given, it seems as though this is a case of an experiment gone wrong. A rat seems to have been affected by some potion that made it grow extremely large and now it's roaming the streets of Crocus, as a potential threat to the civilians."The blonde paused for a bit, letting the other woman digest the information and if she chose to, to skim along the information in the sheet.

After that, Asura would cough to get Xandra's attention and question about their next plan of action. "So, should we start patrolling the area searching for the animal or would you like to visit Ms. Luciel first? We should finish this quick, it seems like it might rain." Whatever Xandra would decide next would become their course of action after which, Asura and the other Knight would set out to eradicate the vermin that littered the streets.

The moment the words parted the woman's lips, the blonde couldn't help but acknowledge the aspect of professionalism that was laced within her voice. She spoke like a true Knight and in some way, that created a good first impression of Asura on the blonde Knight. However, she was still no more than a stranger. Given her nature, Xandra found herself still unable to trust this woman despite their alliance. Regardless, she paid no heed to the matter as her sole focus for the moment was to get this job done with, quick. Nodding as she spoke, the lightning mage grabbed the piece of paper put before her and her lilac eyes scanned over the content, taking in the material, and completely understanding Asura's explanation.

Her brows knitted into a frown as the name Luciel rung a bell in her mind but she couldn't quite pinpoint where she had heard of it. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she gestured to Asura to walk alongside her as she ventured into the crowd from their previously scanty position. "I doubt a creature like that would be roaming the streets in the midst of everyone without causing a commotion. News travels fast among citizens, if the rat was in a place where it would easily be spotted, we'd have already found out about it minutes ago." She continued strolling as her eyes darted from left to right, "It's more likely possible that it may perhaps be hiding in the alleyway, where it's away from the eyes of people but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. We need to find it, and fast."

She wondered to herself if it was better for them to split up. However, that may prove to be rather risky as the blonde for one, had no idea about the capabilities of the Knight and whether she would be able to handle herself or not. Neither were they aware of the strength of the creature they were hunting down. She presumed that it was a rather strong animal for the headquarters to send not one, but two knights to hunt it down.

On one side of the streets lay resident buildings lined up next to each other and on the other side lay stalls backed up by cafes and stores presenting various goods to be bought. It was quite possible that the creature would be swarming the many alleyways that laid on both side so she halted her steps. They had to think about this as it was perhaps not a wise decision to split up but regardless, she thought she should take Asura's opinion, "Ms.Nightshade, or Asura, if you don't mind me calling you that. I'll be frank with you. I don't know exactly how capable you are, neither do I know how powerful this rat is so each of us being alone might pose as a problem. However, splitting up to find the creature faster seems to be a more likely decision. So what do you wish to do?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, a large high pitched scream pierced through the air captivating Xandra's attention. She looked at Asura, wondering if she was thinking the same thing as the blonde was. She would then proceed to locate the sound which seemed to have come from across the street, a little further than their previous position, causing the woman to hurry to the site. At that moment, she would only hope that Asura was following her. As they stopped before the opening of the alleyway, she noticed a woman, sitting on the floor as if she fell backwards while staring at a disgusting creature that was feeding on a cat with the essence of fear prominent on her face. They had found their target.

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The blonde merely stood there, glancing at the Seated, as she skimmed through the sheet and absorbed Asura's words. Now, that she got a better look at Xandra, the similarities between them were slightly uncanny: blonde hair, almost the same height, lean figures, monotonous expressions. It inwardly, caused an awkward chill to escalate within Asura. Weird.

The Seated looked at Asura and relayed her thoughts about where the rat could possibly be as Asura nodded alongside. She was inherently right. That was an observation that Asura hadn't realized yet however, she did guess that the rat would be rather, powerful if an Apprentice alone couldn't handle it and a Seated was sent along with her. In reality, Asura was somewhat glad for that too as if she couldn't handle this alone, it would have acted as a huge blow to her and potentially, cause more harm to the civilians as well. Better to always be safe and if Xandra could guarantee that, then it was good enough for Asura. She didn't want to prove her worth to anyone, she just wanted to help the civilians especially, after the event that had just transpired which caused unsettlement among the country.

"Well, you are right about that." Asura stated, "An open place would cause it to be sighted easily and I took quite a long way while coming to this location and so far I haven't heard anything from the civilians. We should start looking towards the more deserted and run-downs areas not too far from here, perhaps, there's a high chance it could be there."

When Xandra started moving in that particular direction, Asura followed not far behind. It was her first quest with someone, not to mention with someone of a higher caliber and the blonde was slightly conscious of her actions, as well. After all, she wouldn't want Xandra thinking that she was unworthy of her position. While it is true that she didn't want to prove her worth, there is a certain level of professionalism and skills that need to be showcased as with what comes with the criteria of being a Knight.

The duo passed buildings upon buildings as they slowly headed towards the more run-down yet, still established part of the city. It was then that Xandra claimed what had been a prominent thought in Asura's mind. The blonde nodded to the Seated's concern before she intended to state the conclusion she had already come to.

However, before she could say anything, a loud scream pierced through the air. Asura looked towards Xandra before the two sprinted off in the direction of the noise with Asura slightly behind the other blonde. They came to a clearing of an alleyway where a woman had fell onto the ground as she looked towards the beastly sight in front of her. It was the rat. Guess they hadn't need to split up after all.

The sky grew considerably greyer as time went past and it was well into late afternoon by now. It would rain soon enough and so, there was no time. Just as she thought that, the giant rat showcased itself; a hideous monstrosity with gleaming red eyes, ruffled and dirty fur and sharp claws. Within a moment, it raised its claws and aimed for the woman in front of it to pierce through her.

However, just as it could, Asura dashed from her position behind Xandra as she unsheathed her sword and quickly raised it vertically to block the rat's claws just as it almost struck the woman. A loud clash echoed through the alleyway as Asura's Warrior Sword struck the rat's claws causing the blonde to bend her knees due to the impact. She clenched her teeth with a slight glance at the woman behind her, noticing that she was now trying to get up and scurry away from the alley. The woman dashed past Xandra, not bothering to even look back at the two Rune Knights as Asura kept the rat at bay and awaited for Xandra to do something.

"Xandra!"She called out, holding the beast at bay as it raised its other claw to slice through the Knight.

The blonde was rather impressed by Asura's reflexes as she immediately dashed towards the rat, protecting the woman who mere seconds later, rushed past the blonde. Although her partner seemed to be capable, it appeared that her abilities were perhaps at par with their opponent. Turning her face to the side, lilac eyes looked at the crowd behind. Raising her hand to her side, parallel to the ground, she spoke, "I request all citizens to create some distance if you wish to avoid getting injured."That seemed to have done the trick as civilians scurried away, still looking with frightened and curious eyes but from afar. Without putting her hand down, she whispered the word, "Kaminari."

As tedious as a task to deal with Raijin was, she had no option at the moment. A bright light escaped her body and seconds later, she had now transformed into her take over. Her blonde hair was darker than it was before and slightly longer as her eyes also turned a shade duller. Sparks of blue lightning engulfed her as she walked into the alleyways, raising her hand which mimicked the appearance of a gun with her index and middle finger, she pointed it towards the rat, careful to completely avoid harming her partner in anyway. "Boom"

As the word left her mouth, a string of lightning escaped her fingers, travelling towards the rat which was roughly eight meters away from her. Within less than a second, the string pierced through the rat, managing to send it flying back approximately one meter due to the impact as crimson blood escaped the opening that she had attacked which pierced about eight centimeters deep into it's flesh. As Asura was closer, the blonde Knight figured that it would be best to attack the creature without giving it a chance to retaliate, "Asura, now." This way, if the creature turned out to be stronger, it would have absolutely no chance of hurting the two females in any way possible. It would be safe to say that she was slightly worried for her partner but Xandra knew that she would have to trust Asura on this. Team work was perhaps one of the things she had to work on and now that she was given a chance, she had to take it.

If and when Asura would have attacked the creature, the female would make her move. Rotating her foot, she would tap it against the ground as lightning surrounds it, "Bolt". The lightning propelled her ten meters towards the direction of the rat. While she had set off from her previous position, she would mutter the words, "Silent Growl" while clapping her hands together which were now, also laced with lightning. Once she had reached the nine meters mark and dashed past her companion and the rat, she would extend her hand so that it touched the rat, causing a shocking effect to spread through it's body. Given the speed of her spells, all of it would have happened in roughly one second. It was now Asura's turn. Her shocking effect would reduce the mobility of the creature, giving her companion a significant amount of time to completely end the creature that had been running around and causing havoc within the city.

Name: BoltRank: CMana Cost: 50Requirements: God Soul: RaijinType: SupplementaryElement: LightningRange: 10 MetersCooldown: 2 PostDuration: InstantEffect: The user rotates their foot before tapping it on the ground, casing lightning to surround their feet. This allows them to dash into their desired direction within a distance of 10 meters.

Name: Silent GrowlRank: BMana Cost: 100Requirements: God Soul: RaijinType: OffensiveElement: LightningRange: SelfCooldown: 3 PostDuration: SustainEffect: The user claps their hands together, causing lightning to surround both their hands. When a target is touched while the spell in activated, they suffer from B-rank shocking damage on the area that was touched.

► I SAID 1, 2, 3! PLAY THE GAME AGAIN LET'S PRESS THE BUTTON DON'T BE SURPRISED IF I CHANGE MY MIND PEEK-A-BOO

Whatever happened, happened so fast that Asura didn't even have time to blink.

Within a flash, Xandra had changed into something, what that was a mystery however, the blonde guessed that it would have something to do with her magic. She released some sort of spell from a little distance away that bolted lightning out of her hand and sent the rat flying backwards, finally taking the weight off Asura. For a second, the Apprentice just stood there, her Warrior Sword slightly lowered, gawking at Xandra's sheer strength until, she heard the comment that instructed her to attack and with narrowed eyes, Asura raised her sword and ran before jumping in the air, flying for about a distance of 3 meters to directly face the rat's abdomen. She swung her sword and pierced through its flesh, vertically, as its blood splattered out onto the ground. The hit was somewhat on the same location as Xandra's which was indicated through the sizzling marks left on the rat's skin.

Without wasting another moment, as soon as the blonde landed onto the ground about a meter away from the rat, she bent her knees and dashed forward once again, aiming for a vertical strike at the exact same place where she had previously struck. The rat, still exhausted from the two previous attacks, was slow in its movements and hence, Asura got a hit before it shot it shot its 2 meter tail directly at her. As soon as she saw it coming from the corner of her eye towards her sides, she ducked slightly down in order for it to hit her Warrior Shoulder Plates. The tail clashed against it and although her plates definitely blocked them, it did send Asura skidding backwards slightly.

It was during that time while the blonde caught her reigns, the Seated sprinted into action by, all of a sudden appearing in front of the rat and immobilizing it. Amazing.Xandra was indeed, at a level Asura could only hope to achieve. It sure was nice having magic.

However, there was no time for that as the moment Asura saw the rat immobilized, she knew it was a ride or die opportunity. The blonde lifted her sword up, running towards the rat and covered the approximately, 8 meters between them in less than a second by dashing towards the place the rat's heart would be. She jumped slightly upwards and brought her sword down horizontally on the rat's chest to slice through it to leave a gaping hole that squirted blood. However, that wouldn't be enough as before she could land on the ground, Asura brought her sword back and stabbed inside the hole, effectively hitting something which she assumed to be the heart.

It seemed as though her prediction was right and as she lowered to the ground, she saw the rat lean back against the wall and could see the physical representation of a life leaving something as the rat lay limp and unmoving, now dead to the world.

Asura breathed heavily and wiped the sweat from her forehead before leaning against another wall and sheathing her sword in. She had just done her first kill. But, surprisingly, she didn't feel any different. The blonde glanced towards the now, dead rat and then towards Xandra. "I think this is it, right?" She asked, "The rat is dead, we should be done here." She lifted herself from the wall that she was leaning against and walked towards the Seated. "I think we can call in someone from HQ to help bury the rat and to just do a small patrol to see if anything dangerours or contaminated was left behind by it."

If Xandra were to agree to this, Asura would nod and head on out from the alley to do a patrol around the area, wiping her hands that were coated with specks of blood on her handkerchief. And as the tiredness seeped in and she walked, her eyes glazed with her usual emotions of nonchalance, it scared her a bit.

It scared her a little that she just killed something and didn't feel anything.

Hushed whispers and frightened gasps erupted within the vicinity as the blonde simply stared at the scene before her. She had let Asura do the finishing task of the killing the specimen that had gone out of control and it really did seem as if there was a need for the lightning mage to accompany this Apprentice in this job. However, she could somehow tell that Asura wasn't so used to such jobs. Even to the blonde, she more or less pegged to be a strategic person. Xandra would imagine the woman working hard and well behind the scenes but perhaps she was wrong. There was still so much that she didn't know about her companion.

"Yeah, it's dead. We should be done with our work now. If I'm right, some page Knights will be here soon to take care of the rest."For a moment, sparks of blue lightning surrounded her body as her hair slightly hauled into the air before falling over her back, having returned to it's original shade and length. Her eyes were back to being the monotonous shade of lilac they previously were and the drums laced with lightning that floated behind her disappeared, replacing the greenish blue attire she had with her previous outfit which was nothing more than a simple grey full-sleeved jumper tucked inside a pair of loose blue jeans that were folded inwards from the bottom.

Heaving a sigh, she watched the dead rat slump into a lifeless position as murmurs behind them evaded her thoughts. She could hear their words, some stating the change in the Rune Knights after the rise of the new emperor. She still didn't know how to feel about that so she felt her shoulders stiffen a bit. "Miss.Queen, Page Knights here reporting for duty." The words caught her attention as she looked at two young boys who were ready for the job, "Ah yes, please take care of the body. Dispose it somewhere safe and be careful not to get infected in anyway. Do you have protective clothing?" They nodded and got to work. At least her job was over.